Hello fellow language learners! I moved to NL 6 years ago and stilly struggling to speak Dutch and recently read that Dutch is one of easiest languages which wasn’t helpful and a little offensive. I know I need to surround myself with the Dutch language but the struggle is getting from B level to C level like English. Anything less than C1++ is not enough to work with Dutch speaking coworkers.
As one of the methods to get to fluency, I built a functional prototype “Fluentor”. I collected the most common pain points from language learning app users on Reddit etc… and I’m currently conducting User Feedback to understand what’s genuinely useful and what’s not, so I can prioritize what’s important and what to improve! This could take 1-3 mins its mostly multiple choice.
The B-to-C Dutch gap: why so many internationals get stuck
If you are an international living in The Hague, you have probably seen the same pattern: people reach a functional level of Dutch, then plateau. You can handle groceries, appointments, simple conversations, and maybe even follow Dutch YouTube with effort. But real working Dutch is a different game.
The jump from B-level Dutch to C-level Dutch is less about knowing more words and more about being able to operate under pressure: meetings, jokes, fast back-and-forth, disagreements, nuance, and social confidence. In a Dutch-speaking workplace, that is the difference between “I can speak Dutch” and “I can work in Dutch”.
For many of us, the challenge is not motivation. It is method. We can do exercises for years and still freeze when a conversation gets fast, when someone switches topics, or when we need to explain something clearly without translating in our heads.
Why language apps often fail at the exact moment you need them most
Most mainstream language apps help with early progress, then start feeling repetitive. They may be good at:
- basic vocabulary
- short, scripted sentences
- streaks and reminders
But when you need “real-life Dutch” you often run into common frustrations:
- unnatural dialogues and robotic phrasing
- too many isolated exercises with no context
- grammar explanations that do not connect to real usage
- not enough speaking practice, or speaking feedback that is not useful
- a sense of grinding without feeling more fluent
This is not to criticize any specific product. It is a reality of how difficult it is to build something that genuinely supports speaking confidence, especially for people already around B1–B2.
A prototype approach: story-first practice for real-life Dutch
As one method to get myself closer to fluency, I built a functional prototype called Fluentor. It is not a finished app. It is not a commercial launch. It is a prototype to test whether a different structure can help bridge the B-to-C gap.
The core idea is simple: practice in context. Instead of only “lesson-first” learning, Fluentor is exploring:
- interactive story scenes that feel closer to real life
- practical phrases worth saving and reusing
- one-tap helpers on sentences (translate, explain why, give real-life alternative)
- weekly focus goals (speaking confidence, workplace Dutch, small talk, etc.)
- deterministic progress tracking (so motivation is not only “streaks”)
I want something that makes practice feel like preparing for actual conversations in The Hague: at work, at the gemeente, with neighbors, at the dentist, in a café, or during a language exchange.
Why I am asking for feedback now
Because it is a prototype, I have to prioritize. I cannot build everything. The only way to build something useful is to ask people who are actually living this experience.
I also collected many common pain points from language learning app users across online communities (including Reddit discussions), and I want to validate what matters most for internationals learning Dutch in real life, especially here in The Hague and the Randstad.
I am currently running a short user feedback survey to learn:
- what makes people quit language apps
- what feels hardest right now (speaking, listening, vocabulary, confidence, grammar in context)
- whether interactive story-based learning is motivating or distracting
- what Study Mode tools people would realistically use every week
- what builds trust in a learning tool (accuracy, privacy, clean UI, usefulness)
The survey
If you can spare 1–3 minutes, please fill it in here: https://forms.gle/KJoTPG8KK3xBiaUV8
If you prefer not to share personal details, you can keep your answers general. The main goal is to understand priorities: what is genuinely useful, and what is not.
Thank you / Bedankt!
The Hague is an international city, and that is one of its strengths. But if you plan to build a long-term life here, Dutch often becomes the key that unlocks deeper friendships, smoother bureaucracy, and better work opportunities. Many of us want that, and many of us are working hard for it. This is my attempt to turn that struggle into something practical, and I would appreciate your input.
Eslam Ghazy | www.eslamghazy.com
International resident in The Hague, building a functional prototype to explore story-first Dutch practice and gather feedback from local learners.
